Director of Academic Preparation

January 22, 2009

I am pleased to announce that, after a thorough search and upon the recommendation of the campus Search Advisory Committee, I have appointed Claudia Martinez as the Director of the Office of Academic Preparation, starting January 14, 2009.

Claudia came to UCSB in 2001 as the Project Director for the campus's ENLACE y Avance (Engaging Latino Communities for Education) project, an initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation focused on increasing college-going rates among local K-12 students. In 2005, she became Associate Director and, shortly thereafter, Acting Director of the Office of Academic Preparation. Claudia came to UCSB from UC Merced where she was one of the founding staff members, becoming Interim Director of the Office of Academic Programs in 2000.  Currently, she is on the leadership team for CA ENLACE and a liaison with the Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success (ARCHES), both statewide initiatives that support efforts to improve access to higher education.  She serves also as UCSB's liaison to the Hispanic Association of College and Universities (HACU), a member of the UC P-20 Leaders and Ventura County P-16 Core Council groups, and a member of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (CACSW).

Prior to entering the field of higher education, Claudia served as the State Policy Analyst for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund's (MALDEF) office in Sacramento, CA from 1992-94, and held positions with other policy and advocacy organizations including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

A native of Los Angeles, CA, Claudia received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law and Social Policy from UC Berkeley and received a Master's Degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley's Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy.

In her position as Director of Academic Preparation, Claudia will continue to promote the development of UCSB's academic preparation programs and educational partnerships in the region.

I want also to take this opportunity to thank the Search Advisory Committee.  The membership is listed below.  The Search Advisory Committee members spent considerable time, effort and thoughtfulness in advertising, reviewing, interviewing and considering candidates for this position.  The campus will greatly benefit from their efforts.

Director of Academic Preparation Search Advisory Committee

Carl Guiterrez-Jones, Chair, Professor of English
Betsy Brenner, Professor, Department of Education
Claudine Michel, Director, Center for Black Studies Research and Professor, Department of Black Studies
Petra Van Koppen, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Betty Huff, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Enrollment Services and Management
Robert Cota, Director, MESA Programs, College of Engineering
Chris Dixon, Business Officer, Graduate Division
Amber Gonzalez, Graduate Student Association
Ricardo Alcaino, Director Equal Opportunity, ex officio
Carol Houchens, Director of Academic Administration, Committee Administrative Support